The Wandless
by Newage
Summary: The war has literally just ended, but a new, more terrible threat arises from the ashes, like a demonic phoenix, as Harry begins his first tumultuous year as an Auror.


Chapter 1: End of an Era

Dolohov raced through the forest as the scent of scorched varnish and hair lingered in his nostrils. Though the trees were thick and foreboding, spots of sunlight occupied tidbits of the floor, indicating a new day. He hadn't known how long or how far he fled, only that his lungs were ripped and his muscles were torn by the retreat. Defeated, master-less, he felt his only option now was to flee from the country at once. If it weren't for that half-breed charms professor whom, admittedly, he had underestimated, Dolohov would be half way to India by now. Instead, unable to disapparate, he snuck away from the besieged school when the mudbloods and blood traitors were too occupied celebrating and sped swiftly into the forbidden forest. Every now and then he would hear muffled voices or breaking twigs and as a result jets of green light would illuminate the darkened forest.

How, he thought, did Potter survive the killing curse yet again? It was not like the curse had been performed by any wizard, but by the greatest dark wizard of all time! Dolohov froze at this thought, as if Voldemort's demise had just truly sank in. He had seen the dark lord's lifeless body, not a shell of life, but an empty container, utterly defeated and dead. He had just regained consciousness when he saw the streaking curse rebound and smash into his master's body, destroying whatever remained of his life-force. Stunned, but with his wits about him, Dolohov was able to sneak away as the entire hall rushed to embrace the boy. The distraught death eater was shaken back to the present by a low hissing noise, not unlike that made by a steaming tea pot.

Dolohov reared his head from side to side. He had unknowingly stumbled upon a clearing in the forest, free of trees, yet strangely void of any of the day's sunlight. As a matter of fact, there was nothing in the clearing except an unnaturally smooth and level ground composed of, could it be, compacted tree branches and dead leaves. He perhaps now had some idea of where the trees in the area had gone. Only dark magic could've compressed the area like how it was now. The hissing came from the center of the area, but stopped suddenly.

"Long has it been since we've had any noteworthy visitors," a deep, inhuman voice said. The malice was as apparent in the statement as the unnatural state of the area was. "Not even the trolls or centaurs come here now."

Dolohov raised his wand so suddenly and swiftly it seemed as if he had already begun to cast a curse. However, a sudden dull pain streamed from his wand hand and shot through his entire body like a bolt of lightning. To his horror, he had lost all control of his body and stood frozen.

"What's wrong? Can't swing that thing around like you want to? Pity," said a normal, clearly male voice, but seemed just as deadly.

Dolohov tried to move his wand hand, tried to blink, to move any part of his body, but was unable to muster any strength to do so. The hissing noise had appeared again, ringing annoyingly in his ears. At the center of the dark clearing a blur slowly appeared in sight; Dolohov's muted scream caused his own lungs to tremble. The blur was complete darkness and roughly occupied the area of an average-sized man. Then, without warning, a great streak of that very same darkness shot straight at Dolohov from the blurry mass. The force of the attack sent the Death Eater flying into the air, slamming hard into a nearby tree. A dark, content snicker escaped from the blur as Dolohov, shaken but uninjured, now had full reign of his body once more. He saw at once the black blur melt to the forest floor, like liquid shadow. Dolohov realized that it had not been pure shadow at all, but a mass of swarming, black flies. A man was now standing where the swarm had once been, as if he had been thawed from the shadows.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

Dolohov had not waited another second and intended to kill the person who had bound his body. A jet of green light flew from his wand straight at the newly emerged figure. The man raised his arm towards the beam, and to Dolohov's delight, hit its target straight on. However, his face was instantly drained of any triumph as the man swayed his arms along as if parading to a silent waltz. The killing curse swirled around from one arm to another, like a tamed snake curling around its master. He mockingly hummed a tune and turned his back to the shocked death eater.

"What should we do about this one?" he said to another unseen occupant of the area.

Dolohov was frozen again, yet there was no need for an external force to cause this state. He was unable to think of anything to do, not when the man was able to toy with his killing curse like a toddler's plaything.

"Question him, we have been naïve of the outside world for far too long," said the same inhuman voice, this time, its intentions clearly decipherable in its tone.

The man stopped mocking Dolohov, and snapped his fingers. The green light had drained to the snapping fingers and disappeared as a tiny spark. Dolohov was barely able to grip his wand as the man turned to face him; almost every feature of his opponent's was shrouded in darkness, his eyes black like the depths of the cosmos.

"_Percunctor_!"

A thousand different voices escaped Dolohov's mouth and a terrifying scream echoed through the forest. Moments later, the lifeless body of the once formidable dark wizard fell to the ground with a pitiful thud, dead for what seemed like no reason. The mysterious man stood quietly for mere moments, gazing at the body, but not really noticing it. Finally, he turned his back to Dolohov's corpse, and addressed his unseen companion once again.

"What did he tell you?" it asked Dolohov's killer.

"What we've been waiting for has happened. The champions Dumbledore and Voldemort are both dead," he answered simply.

A deathly laughter erupted all around the forest, the source of which was indistinguishable.

"And the stick? Can I have it?" the man asked, unimpeded by the sinister laughter.

"Never," it hissed, "Destroy it."

Dolohov's wand, still being clutched by the lifeless wizard, exploded into dust with a lazy wave of the man's hand.

Harry strolled through the same halls he had walked through so many times before. It felt like he hadn't slept all his life, but he forced his eyes to stay open. All around, he took in the carnage of the previous night's battle. The stone walls of the corridor that once sparkled and felt so indestructible stood battered, cracked, and in some areas entirely obliterated. Some of the paintings he had grown accustomed to over the years were burnt by curses or ripped by rebounding jinxes. All that remained of one painting, which had a group of medieval wizards posing together, was the very top portion of the brass frame.

He began to wonder which Hogwarts defender and death eater had been dueling whenever he came across a battle site. _Had this been where Tonks and Lupin were killed_? Harry thought as he passed a completely devastated area of the hallway. Which curse or jinx had caused the classroom door he just passed to have a perfectly circular opening the size of a first year burned into it? In one area, the entire corridor had been blackened by thick soot which seemed, as Harry walked through it, permanently adhered to the different surfaces of the hall.

The moving stairways to the Gryffindor tower seemed a completely different world than the corridor Harry had just left. Still moving about, changing to their hearts' content, the stairs seemed untouched, unblemished by the battles. Perhaps the fighting had never reached this part of the castle, or perhaps the stairs were too impatient to sit around while wizards tried jinxing and cursing each other. Harry looked down, afraid he might see an unfortunate wizard who had the idea of trying to duel here. Fortunately he saw no sprawled, lifeless bodies, and finding his eyelids had become heavier than ever before, proceeded to the Fat Lady's portrait.

The Fat Lady was sitting down on the side of her painting, looking both exhausted and relieved. When Harry reached her he felt something heavy fall into the pit of his stomach; he hadn't actually been at school all year, and had no idea what the password was.

"Er…." He began.

The Fat Lady jumped up at the sudden noise, anticipating another battle. Looking around, as if Harry had not been standing in front of her, she finally stopped her frantic search for whatever it was she was seeking and looked at him.

"I don't know the –"

"My dear boy," she interrupted, smiling eagerly, "as if you would _ever_ need to present me with a password again."

And with that, the portrait swung open, leaving Harry both content and somewhat embarrassed.

He entered into the common room, and to his relief, found it empty. Without thinking, he walked past the armchairs and fireplace he hadn't seen for nearly a year and straight up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Realizing he hadn't had a bed assigned to him, he found the one he had occupied the previous years and, without taking off his clothes or glasses, fell face first into the soft, welcoming mattress.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Harry awoke and felt as if he had had _too_ much sleep. There was also an added bonus; there wasn't one dream in which he was Voldemort, performing some terrible deed. Finally, he thought as he rolled around in bed, stretching away the comfortable laziness in his muscles, Voldemort and him were no longer connected. Indeed, Voldemort himself was no longer alive.

Harry rubbed away the tiredness and crust from his eyes and sat up. He saw through the tower window that the sun was out, and wondered if he slept through day and night completely. Harry shifted his head left and right quickly, trying to fix any cricks he might have had in his neck and causing his vision to blur. When he completed the task, and his eyes readjusted, Harry's gaze fell upon a scene that warmed his insides and caused a grin to appear across his face.

An armchair had been brought up from the common room, one of the more comfortable ones, and stood perched beside the bed Harry had occupied. Curled up in a semi-ball, Ginny Weasley had apparently fallen asleep watching him; her blazing red hair falling off the side of the chair and onto the mattress.

Harry quietly and gently scooped a handful of Ginny's hair and exhaled the flowery scent he had longed for since their parting months and months ago. He imagined a hidden meadow filled with flowers and sunshine as he smelled and stroked her silky red hair. Bending over quietly, Harry kissed Ginny's forehead and felt a bliss he was so used to attributing to pure fantasy. The gentle warmth of Harry's touch was all it took, as Ginny began to fidget awake.

Ginny sat upright, yawning and with both eyes still closed, stretched her arms high into the air.

"Mornin'" Harry said gleefully, still grinning from ear to ear.

Ginny stopped stretching and opened her eyes. She smiled as Harry sat in front of her, mere inches away from her face. Then, without another second lost, a burst, a streak of red, and a muffled sound like that of metal springs was all Harry remembered as Ginny lay on top of him, embracing his lips with her own and her arms tightly woven around his body. Harry pulled Ginny even closer to him, if possible, with his arms and they lay there together, embracing each other with what felt like a lifetime of longing.

Finally, to Harry's disappointment, for he could have lived the rest of his life embraced like that, Ginny pulled her lips away from his, and hovered above him with that same blazing look that Harry felt burned through his soul every time. Suddenly, the loving red-headed girl morphed into a raging torrent of fist and fury, pelting Harry's chest with unstopping jabs.

"Don't – ever – make – " Harry felt the thudding of bone on his chest somewhat invigorating, "me – think – for – one – " each syllable Ginny could muster was matched with two or three punches, "second – that – I –had – " Harry felt this was familiar to him somehow, like he had seen it in a movie before, "lost – you – again!"

Finally Ginny stopped beating down upon the amused, somewhat confused Harry, and immediately thrust herself into him again. She wove her arms around him, squeezing tighter than ever, and buried her face into his chest. Harry could feel warm liquid wetting his shirt, and knew, for only the second time in her life, the first being the time they were in the Chamber of Secrets, that Ginny had knowingly allowed herself to succumb to tears in front of him. He stroked her head lovingly, and held her tight in his arms.

"I didn't mean to make you all think I was dead," Harry began, smiling down at Ginny, her face still buried in his chest, "I just had to pretend for a little while so that Voldemort – oh come on he's gone – so that he would think that he had won."

They sat like that for a few more moments, holding each other like it would be the last time, until finally Ginny lifted her head away from Harry's body. She turned away so that he couldn't see the dry tear stains on her face or the new tears falling down, and began wiping away furiously. Harry gently placed his hand on her chin and slowly steered her until she was facing him again, tears and all. Her eyes were watery and red; her cheeks flushed and lips trembling.

"If I ever pretend to be dead again, I'll make sure to tell you first," he said, winking playfully.

Ginny laughed a little at this, and fell back onto Harry's chest.

"You know, when I was dating Michael Corner and Dean," Ginny started, which confused Harry a little, why did girls always want to talk about their ex's? "I was always able to find a lot of things about them I didn't like or found annoying. But with you, the only thing I ever found I didn't like was your absence – but of course you were quite unbearable sometimes."

Ginny's recovery was too late, Harry's face was so full of smug and triumph that he had no desire to hide it from her. Ginny could do nothing but sigh, and bending down, Harry pressed his lips on hers once more.

Together they walked along the same corridor towards the Great Hall. Harry felt much better with a night's worth of sleep under his belt; Ginny was walking beside him, with a firm hold on his arm, informing Harry about what happened while he was asleep.

"Kingsley returned to the Ministry not long after you had gone to bed," Ginny revealed, "he's rounding up all of You-Know-Who" – Harry playfully tapped Ginny's head with his finger – "fine, all of _Voldemort's_ followers and supporters that were part of the ministry first. He's also working out which wizards and witches were under the Imperius curse and which ones weren't. Umbridge was the first to say she only did what she did because she was under it, and of course, she was the first Kingsley sent to Azkaban. That all ready should tell you Kingsley should stay on as Minister permanently."

Harry couldn't agree more; he felt a surge of justice flow through his body at Ginny's words. He quickly snapped out of it, however, as she continued to speak.

"He also sent some Aurors here in case any remaining Death Eaters come back, but seeing as how all the Order is here and half of the school and their families, I doubt they'll be that stupid. I think it's just to keep any followers from trying to steal _Voldemort's_ body back. People have begun to make their way back home, while others…" Ginny's voice cracked a little, and Harry could tell she was trying at some courage, "are staying put because family members have died, and they are waiting to be allowed to take them back."

For the first time all morning, Harry was reminded what had been sacrificed in order to bring Voldemort down forever. A solid lump of guilt and sadness formed inside him. Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Colin, dozens of other brave people, all of them lost their lives so that Harry could have a chance to defeat Voldemort. _And Snape?_ said a voice in the back of his mind. Harry hadn't forgotten what Snape had done; what he had sacrificed; not only his life, but his pride, when he handed Harry all those private memories, in order to help him defeat the dark lord. Harry could think of nothing that he could do to ever repay him, the man he once loathed as much as Voldemort himself.

"Oh here we are," said Ginny.

They had finally reached their destination. Ginny pulled Harry along as they entered the unrecognizable, almost refugee camp-like, Great Hall. There were no great house tables, no chattering students or stern-looking teachers. Instead there were rows and rows of sleeping bags on the floor, families huddled together, discussing the previous events with others beside them. The centaurs had apparently returned to the forest, only Bane was left, with Firenze at his side, talking about an unknown subject. Kreacher and the other house-elves shuffled about, bringing in food and medicine at the behest of Madam Pomfrey. He spotted Bill, Fleur, Percy, Charlie, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley near the front of the Hall, where Harry noticed dozens of large wooden boxes lay in rows beside one another. Mrs. Weasley was weeping, and Harry knew then, that the boxes were coffins, and they were beside Fred. Ginny had apparently seen her mother too, because her grip on Harry's arm grew even tighter.

Harry scanned the hall some more: George and Lee Jordan were leaning on a wall near the rest of George's family, staring silently at Fred's resting place. Professors Flitwick and Sprout were standing together with Ministry officials, not far from the Weasleys, discussing, Harry imagined, a number of things. Slughorn sat crossed legged in a circle with many other wizards and witches, merrily chatting and eating his favorite crystallized pineapple sweets. The people he was with were probably famous and important individuals he had taught over the years that had joined the battle. Neville's grandmother and Aberforth were chatting to each other as well, and many of the house ghosts were gliding about, offering words of comfort.

"Harry!"

Harry heard the shout from near the entrance and turned to his side to see who had called him. Neville came striding towards him with Luna at his side. Behind him, Harry saw, were Ernie Macmillan, Katie Bell, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Michael Corner. Harry smiled at them; members of the D.A. who fought to defend Hogwarts.

"Hey Neville," Harry said as the remaining D.A. members rushed him.

They stopped in front of Harry and Ginny, beaming, waiting, as if it were the first D.A. meeting again and awaiting a speech. Harry looked at each person's face; tired, battered, but triumphant. Finally he lifted himself up, and addressed his comrades.

"We did it," Harry began, but that seemed like all he had to say, because a burst of cheer arose from the other D.A. members as they embraced him. The rest of the hall took notice of the ruckus, and realizing that Harry had returned, gave their own cheers. Finally, after every member had their fill of him, Harry parted himself from the grappling hands.

"_You_ did it Harry," said Seamus.

"Yeah that last duel with Voldy! Brilliant!" said Dean, apparently now using Peeves' vocabulary.

"Returning from the dead like that my heart almost exploded!" exclaimed Katie in one breath.

And after the rest of the D.A. had had their say on the matter, they returned to their previous posts, leaving Harry with Ginny, Neville, and Luna.

"Where's the rest of the D.A? And what are you all doing anyways?" Harry asked, once he realized the other D.A. members had stood themselves like watchful statues.

Neville gave a proud grin.

"We're helping to guard the school," he began, "Kingsley has gotten almost every auror he can muster searching for runaway Death Eaters, and so he's got the D.A. helping with security here. The rest of us are patrolling the grounds."

Sure enough, Harry saw Cho and Terry Boot pass the Great Hall in a militaristic stride. They locked eyes for a second, and Harry gave her an approving smile, which she returned in kind. As the two disappeared from his view, Harry turned back to Neville.

"What's happening on the outside?" he asked.

"It's great! We've been hearing from all over that Death Eaters are being caught and people are breaking out of their trances. The entire wizarding world has been celebrating non-stop when word got out that you finally killed Voldemort."

"I didn't kill him," Harry said, somewhat defensively, "Voldemort was killed by his own curse."

Neville gave him a reassuring smile, at which point Luna entered the conversation, always, as if by accident.

"Dad's been released from Azkaban," she said staring up at the ceiling, "he told me about what he tried to do to you Harry."

Harry swallowed. He didn't know how he quite felt about Mr. Lovegood's attempt to bring him in. On one hand, Harry understood he was only trying to get back his only daughter; on the other hand, he might've ruined everything and allowed Voldemort to take over the world. It seemed that Luna knew what he was thinking, and answered for him.

"I yelled at him quite a lot for it," she said, sounding as if she had no idea how to yell, "I told him we needed to support you even if it meant we died ourselves."

Harry felt a great rush of gratitude for his friend, even if he didn't agree that they should have died for him. Without thinking, without realizing, Harry had took a step towards Luna and had his arms around the, if anyone would believe, bewildered Luna.

"It's all right Harry, I'll get that Wrackspurt out of your head," said Luna as she grabbed Harry's head and began to shake it from side to side.

Ginny contained a giggle, but Neville was laughing outright at this point.

"No it's not a Wrackspurt Luna," Harry said as he took Luna's hands away from his dizzied head.

"I'm just, really glad I have you for a friend," he said to her.

Luna let out a quiet, surprised yelp. Harry wondered if it was because he said he was happy to have her as a friend, or because there was no wrackspurt. She beamed at him.

"I'm very glad to have you as a friend too, Harry Potter," she said.

"Well, we should get going," Neville said to Luna, "we have to help patrol the school."

Neville and Luna waved their goodbyes to Harry and Ginny, then disappeared to unknown parts of the castle. Harry took Ginny's hand and began to look around the Great Hall once again. He had hoped to find his two best friends there, but to his disappointment, they were nowhere to be seen. A great feeling like plunging into an icy lake washed over Harry as a white blur appeared before him.

"Peeves!" Harry said, staring at the mischievous spirit. Peeves floated a little higher than Harry and Ginny's heads, gazing down at the two. He first looked at Harry, then Ginny, then back at Harry, and finally at Harry's arm that Ginny was grappling onto. A wicked smile appeared across his face.

"Wee potty and the Weasley girl?! In _love_?!" he exclaimed. A few fellow students, who Harry recognized but did not know, began to stare at the three.

Ginny reared herself forward, as if preparing for a battle.

"What of it?" she asked Peeves coolly. Peeves floated silently for a while, matching Ginny gaze for gaze. Then, as if something had magically appeared in his mind, Peeves burst into manic song.

"_Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh_" he began….

"_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, _

_His hair is as dark as a blackboard,"_

Ginny's mouth dropped like an anvil, all the coolness evaporated; only bits of terror and shock lingered.

"_I wish he was mine, _

_he's really divine,"_

She looked around, and to her horror, a gathering of students and adults alike had surrounded them, listening interestedly at Peeves.

"_The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."_

The group of people cheered with mirth and clapped at the end, some laughing, some quietly snickering, as if they remembered the musical valentine. Ginny turned to Harry; she was both scarlet and pink all over, and reminded Harry of the first time they met at the Burrow. He gazed at Peeves, deep in thought, and with a shadow of grin nodded his head.

"Wow you remembered that Peeves? I'd forgotten all about it," he said, now fully grinning at Ginny.

The grin instantly vanished as he met Ginny's gaze. Her face was contorted with embarrassment, but her eyes were filled with murderous intent. He laughed nervously as she turned back to Peeves.

"I'm going to kill you Peeves!" she yelled as she reached for her wand.

"Ooo the Weasley girl wants to kill me!" Peeves yelled as he darted away, quickly followed by Ginny and her jinxes.

"That's so cute," said a voice Harry recognized instantly. He turned to face Ron and Hermione, who had walked into the Great Hall, hands being held by one another. Harry could hear bits of "as a blackboard" and "wish he was mine" followed quickly by muffled explosions, but his attention was on the two newcomers.

"Finally over, you two," he said at once.

"Sure is, innit?" replied Ron.

Hermione lunged forward and embraced Harry with a savage hug. Ron laughed merrily as he watched Harry struggle under the mass of frizzled hair.

"You did it Harry, you did it!" she yelled into his ear.

Hermione released Harry and returned to Ron's side. He was so grateful that they were all right that he didn't mind his throbbing eardrums.

"Oh yeah, forgot to give you something," said Ron, and with a swing of his arm, he punched Harry right in his chest. "That's for making us think you were dead, mate."

"You Weasleys," Harry said, rubbing his sore chest playfully.

Ginny returned from her hunt of Peeves, looking but disgruntled yet satisfied.

"Hey you two," she said to Ron and Hermione, "done snogging are you?"

Hermione went pink and turned to watch a group of people talking loudly, while Ron beamed at his sister. The smile vanished from his face as Ron's eyes landed on the rest of his family, all of whom were still surrounding a single coffin. Hermione and Harry both looked as well, as Ginny took his hand.

"We should go over," said Harry, and Ron, looking very pale, nodded.

Together they walked over to the Weasleys, passing a gauntlet of cheers and approving pats. Finally they reached Fred's coffin, slowly walking behind the rest of the family as to not alarm them. The bottom portion of the coffins were made of regular oak, but the upper portion was a type of unnatural, glassy wood which allowed the family to see their lost one. Fred's arms were crossed over his chest, his mouth fitted into a slight smile, the last expression he had in life.

"Hi Mum, Dad," Ron said quietly. The entire family turned to Ron's voice; Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley's face was not unlike Ginny's during her unusual meltdown, for lack of a better word, when they were together in Gryffindor tower. Ron and Ginny both walked towards their mother and hugged her; Harry and Hermione stood silent and respectfully.

"Come here you two," Mrs Weasley said to them. Within moments Mrs Weasley, though tiny as she was, had all four of them in her arms, quietly sobbing.

"I'm so, so sorry Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, his eyes burning and watery.

Mr. Weasley patted Harry on his shoulder; he looked pale and teary-eyed, but all-together healthy.

"Fred lived a happy life Harry, too short, but happy at least," Mr. Weasley said.

Harry felt a tinge of guilt creeping along his spine. If only he had been a bit faster destroying the Horcruxes, perhaps none of them had to have died.

"We always said we'd want to go out with a bang, and well, you saw what happened; I would've given an ear to have been there."

George had approached the family now; his hands in his pockets, and Lee Jordan nowhere in sight. Harry and Ron snickered appreciatively at George's brave attempt at humor. They all knew that out of everyone, it was George that was the most devastated. Regardless, he seemed to have lightened the mood a bit.

Harry released himself from Mrs Weasley and strolled around the other fallen defenders. Ron and Hermione followed, and Ginny looked at them longingly, as if she wanted nothing better than to join them, but Mrs Weasley held her tight and she knew better than to struggle at the moment.

Harry passed other people mourning beside their lost loved ones: students Harry had known or hadn't, older wizards and witches he'd seen in Hogsmeade, and still more he'd never had the honor of meeting. The trio walked along quietly, respectful of the mourners, until they reach the coffin of a 6th year he knew at once as Colin Creevey.

"Oh Colin," Hermione whispered as she squeezed Ron's hand.

Harry bent down to the glassy wood and spoke to Colin, as if he would be able to hear him in death.

"You did good Colin, it's been the greatest honor knowing you," he revealed quite truthfully. Harry would have given anything to see Colin appear out of nowhere and ask, breathlessly, for a signed photograph of him.

"He would be so proud to hear that."

The three jumped a little as a voice appeared from behind them. Harry turned and saw Colin's younger brother Dennis, tears flowing down his cheeks, along with a man who was the splitting image of Colin. He too had been crying, but long since dried up.

"I'm Colin's father, and of course you know Dennis," Mr. Creevey said.

Dennis tried a choked hello, but could not manage.

"Yes, hello Dennis, nice to meet you Mr Creevey," Harry said. Both Ron and Hermione nodded at the two.

"And you must be Harry Potter," Mr. Creevey said, sounding more casual than he should have sounded, "Colin always went on about you. How brave you were, how you managed to do this and that, you were quite his hero."

Harry was a little embarrassed, but he did not falter.

"Colin's my hero now, Mr Creevey, he sacrificed his life to defeat evil," Harry clearly, powerful.

Both Mr. Creevey and Dennis looked flabbergasted. A few moments passed until anyone else spoke.

"I don't know much about this world," Mr. Creevey admitted, "but no matter what world you're part of, it always seems to be separated into good and evil, doesn't it?"

Harry nodded in agreement.

"I'm proud to say my son chose the right side, then." Mr. Creevey finished.

With that the two groups parted company, with the Creeveys watching over Colin and Harry, Ron and Hermione moving on.

Soon the trio had reached where Harry had dreaded the most: Lupin and Tonks. Their coffins lay side by side; apparently Tonks wouldn't leave Lupin even in death. Harry imagined how strong her love for Lupin had been, and, despite himself, felt a pain of anger at Lupin for ever thinking about leaving Tonks to go off and fight Death Eaters. _But didn't you do that with Ginny?_ He thought suddenly. Indeed, that's exactly what he had done; Lupin must've had the same mindset as Harry when he had contemplated joining the trio on the Horcrux hunt. Anger melded into guilt, and he kneeled in the space between Lupin and Tonks, being watched carefully by Ron and Hermione.

"You two were absolutely fantastic," Harry whispered, only audible to Ron and Hermione. "Little Teddy will have the best Godfather ever, even better, I daresay, than old Sirius Black."

Harry nodded respectfully at Lupin, kissed his own hand and placed it on Tonks coffin, and stood up. Ron and Hermione approached the two as well, giving their respects to each of them; Hermione was wiping her eyes and Ron was stifling a sob.

"Best damn Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, no competition," Ron said as he and Hermione returned to Harry's side.

Together they returned to the Weasleys, where a Ministry official was now addressing Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"We've recorded the number of dead and also the names of the deceased. The Ministry has given permission to the families to return with the bodies of their loved ones. Will you be requiring Ministry assistance for burial proceedings?"

"No," said Mr. Weasley, quite professionally, "we'll be burying our son in the family plot."

"Very well Arthur, I'm sorry for your loss," the official said mechanically.

As the man left towards the other families, Ron turned to Harry and Hermione.

"Git," he snarled.

"Don't Ron," said Mr. Weasley sternly, "he's just doing his job. His brother is lying over there."

Mr. Weasley pointed to a casket not far from where they were, and Ron went pink.

"Oh," he said ruefully.

Together, the Weasley men raised their wands and Fred's casket lifted into the air. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny followed suit, then Harry and Hermione walked from behind. Soon, Harry saw, many others were mimicking them. He saw ministry officials help the Creeveys, their wands level with Colin's casket. Lee Jordan had reappeared, and together with Neville, Mrs. Longbottom, and Aberforth, ushered Lupin and Tonks towards the entrance.

"Where's Tonks' mum?" Harry whispered Hermione.

"Aberforth told her not to come and instead he'd bring Professor Lupin and Tonks to her," she said, choking back a sob. "It's terrible that Teddy will be an orphan, never knowing the love of his parents."

She was unable to stop herself in time to realize what she had said, and looked at Harry in hopes that he hadn't been overly offended. Harry, however, hadn't noticed anything malicious in her sincere concern for his godson.

"Don't worry, I'll give Teddy Lupin more love than I ever had," Harry replied.

Hermione smiled, maybe even sighed a little, and took Harry's hand. The procession of people and floating caskets soon reached the outskirts of the castle grounds. With people waving nonchalantly to one another, individuals began apparating left and right, along with the caskets they were accompanying.

"Let's head on out then," said Bill as he grabbed Fleur's hand. Together they disappeared on the spot. They were followed immediately by Charlie, Percy, George, and Mr. Weasley; Fred disappeared along with them.

"I'm going to stick around here for a bit, I want to find Hagrid and Professor McGonagall," Harry said as Mrs. Weasley apparated.

Ginny gave him a reproachful glare that Harry met with timid determination.

"I won't be long Ginny," he reasoned, "just a few minutes and I'll be there, the Burrow right?"

Ron nodded.

"All right then, mate, we'll see you there."

"Then I'm staying with you," Ginny said forcefully, still staring down Harry.

"No, be with your family, I'll be very short," Harry replied, stronger in his voice.

"They're your family too!" she pouted. Harry looked at her and smiled, but would not give in so easily.

"Come off it," Ron scolded. He grabbed her arm, and struggling with his sister, apparated on the spot.

"Bye Harry," Hermione said, as she too took off.

"Right then," Harry said as he made his way off to Hagrid's.

It didn't take long to find Hagrid, whom had with the enormous Grawp. The two brothers were dragging some massive towards a huge pit with a hill of dirt beside it. Harry could only guess that they were hauling what remained of one of Voldemort's giants to its final resting place.

"Hagrid," Harry shouted as he neared the pit.

"Harry!" Hagrid said as he stormed towards Harry, leaving Grawp to play with the massive corpse.

Hagrid grabbed Harry into a massive bear hug, but knew better than to apply any unnecessary pressure.

"What you doing Hagrid?" he asked, trying to make conversation. Truth be told he hadn't had anything in particular he wanted to discuss with Hagrid; he wished to see he was well.

"Oh yeh know, got ter send these poor blokes off properly an all," he said as he pointed towards the pit.

"Oh, right," Harry said. "Um, Hagrid, I was just wondering, what happened to you after you were carried off by the spiders?"

Harry felt eleven again, asking Hagrid questions about who he was and Hogwarts was like.

"Well, they tried takin' me off to their den, for a mighty fine snack mind you," Hagrid began, "but then I was attacked by no less than five Death Eaters! Can yeh believe it? Ruddy cowards."

"Then what happened," Harry asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Well, You-Know-Who came. I was about to knock his ruddy head off, but he put me under the Imperius curse. Mind yeh, he couldn't fully control me, just my body an all that."

"When we all thought you were dead, he told me to pick you up and crush yeh a little, but deep down I couldn't do nothing to harm yeh, so I defied his order in a way," Hagrid said proudly.

"Good thing too," replied Harry, now grinning, "or else I would've really been dead."

"Speakn of which," Hagrid began, and hoping Hagrid didn't think like Ginny and Ron, Harry covered what he could of his body with his arms.

"What yeh doing?" Hagrid asked bemusedly.

"Oh, nothing," Harry lied.

"Well, that was smart of yeh pretendn' to be dead an all, but don't go making an old man like me lose anymore hair thinkin' yeh had died," Hagrid said.

Harry looked at Hagrid's bushy head; it was still as wild and full as the forbidden forest.

"Right, I won't. By the way, do you know where I can find Professor McGonagall?" Harry asked.

"The Headmistress went to the Ministry, 'fraid she won't be back for a while," Hagrid revealed.

"Oh, well maybe some other time, then," Harry responded, quite disappointed.

Harry turned to the school; it looked as if it had gone through years of siege. Hagrid noticed too, and reassured Harry.

"Don't worry bout the school. Some say it's alive, always fixin' itself up like the body of a flesh-an-blood animal, it'll be back to normal in no time."

Harry forced a smile. He bid Hagrid farewell and waved towards Grawp, who acknowledged Harry by waving a great tree stump he had just pulled out.

Harry took one last look at Hogwarts, then thought of the fresh air around the Burrow, the flowery scent of Ginny, the shabby yet beautiful house he envisioned as what a home should be, and apparated away.

"What are we going to do now?" asked a man deep with the forbidden forest.

He was accompanied by two others; they were all hooded and surrounding a bright glowing fire.

"There's nothing we can do now that the Dark Lord's gone," replied another man.

"We can return to the Ministry, say we were under the Imperius curse," suggested the other.

"They won't believe that again, not if Shacklebolt is at the head," said the first man.

"Then we flee, run for it, we split up, never mention each other again, change our names, so we can never give each other away if one of us is caught," said the man who had suggested the plan involving the Imperius curse.

"Or……"

A hissing noise like that of a boiling tea pot appeared at the edge of the Death Eater camp; the three men instinctively drew their wands. The noise faded, and from the shadow appeared a man; he was wandless, his eyes the shade of night.

"You lend your services to my master and I," he said.

The three men raised their wands threateningly at the man who had previously killed Dolohov. They jeered at him; his arrogance was irksome, it would be refreshing to kill someone.

"You think to approach three Death Eaters unarmed?" scoffed the nearest one.

"In a time where your master is dead, and your lot are being hunted down like rats, I don't think it wise to go boasting to strangers that you are a….Death Eater? Was it?" the man said darkly.

"Like it matters when we say it to a single, wandless man," spat another Death Eater.

"Who will shortly pay the ultimate price for mocking _our lot_," added the third.

The man walked towards the group slowly. They twitched their wands towards him, but apparently had more restraint than Dolohov had.

"It would be wise," he began, and the three could finally see the completely black eyes of their uninvited guest, "to join me now, while I offer it."

The Death Eaters could take no more of the man's insolence. Together they slashed their wands forth, casting jets of deadly green at him.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

The man burst into a thousand flies, the hissing noise more terrible and apparent than ever, and avoided the curses completely. Swarming the terrified Death Eaters, the sinister insects forced their way into every orifice they could find of the wizards. Flying back and forth into the still standing Death Eaters like a swarm of bees encircling their nest, the flies seemed to be draining every bit of life within the men. Finally the swarm returned at once where the man had stood, and pushing back together, reformed the same, dark individual from before. The hissing faded as the three men fell on their knees; their eyes were eerily vacant.

"You are now among the _Wandless_ now, servants of the shadow," he said.

The three men arose, their eyes black now like their conqueror. The man looked at their wands for a mere second, almost betraying an air of longing, before waving his hand. The wands of the once proud Death Eaters were obliterated, destroying any remnant of said Death Eaters, leaving only the _Wandless._

Chapter 2 should come up soon I hope. Later.


End file.
